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Thursday, May 28, 2015

5 Reasons to Read Saga

Saga, Book One

By Brian K Vaughan and Fiona Staples

Image Comics November 2014

504 pages

From the library

1. This story is all about family.
Saga may be set in the middle of an intergalactic conflict, but the characters are devoted to their families. We see parents coming to the aid of their adult children, spouses supporting each other, and people grieving the loss of their loved ones. But this story also subtly suggests that families can be created when people come together to fight for what is right.

2. Awesome women
Hello cover of a nursing mother! This might be my favorite cover ever. The story in fact opens with a birth as a Marko and Alana, a couple from opposite sides of the war, bring their baby Hazel into the world while danger is literally knocking at the door. This story is full of women fighting for what they believe in and generally being awesome, all the while being nurturing mothers, wives, and friends.

3. It's impossible to put down
I confess I picked up the collection intending to read one issue and then put it down for a while. That did not happen. I read this straight through, all 18 issues of goodness. Vaughan and Staples drop the readers right into the middle of action and it doesn't let up. When I finished this collection, I went right to my computer to request the next volume from the library.

4. The world building is amazing.

You can't set a story in far-off planets and not explore other places and species, right? We travel with Marko and Alana around the galaxy, sometimes in a ship that grew out of a tree, and encounter royals with tvs for heads, ruthless bounty hunters, and a world populated entirely by brothels (have I mentioned this is definitely not a series for kids?)

5. Fun and thought-provokingSaga is a blast to read. It's clever, beautifully drawn, and has characters you have to adore. But it is also written to make you think about issues that exist both on the page and real life. Vaughan is taking a hard look at war, slavery, and power and reading this awesome collection will make you do the same.